The REFRESH forum, or the Regular Employer Forum Raising Engineering Standards at Holbeach, meets regularly and aims to keep employers informed, as well as acts to improve networking amongst managers in the food manufacturing and support industries. The latest meeting was supported by Town and County Engineering Services Ltd, based in Spalding, who helped to source equipment for the new workshop through Teng Tools, and provided a large selection of lubricants which comply with the latest legislation for use with food products and incidental contact.

The University of Lincoln already successfully works with a range of local businesses to offer apprenticeships in horticulture and agriculture, based at the Riseholme campus. Now, the University’s campus at Holbeach is looking to further that success and offer apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships in Engineering, Operations and Maintenance and Food Manufacturing.

The National Centre for Food Manufacturing, based at the University’s Holbeach campus, works closely with the large concentration of food manufacturing businesses in South Holland and beyond. This partnership with industry has enabled it to build training facilities to food factory specification, which include state-of-the-art food manufacturing equipment, much of it sponsored by partners in industry.

Bob Hindry says, “The local food sector needs a wide range of skilled workers, which also includes business and administration, as well as the specialist training in food manufacturing equipment and engineering support which the University offers. The benefits of being employed while studying for further qualifications on day release are obvious, and apprenticeship programmes reflect apprentices’ chosen career paths and the branch of industry in which they work.”

For details of forthcoming REFRESH meetings or for more information about Apprenticeship programmes, contact Bob Hindry on 01406 493000.